Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Whilst something borrowed shows a deep sense of adoration to another lover, there is always something very special about having the new rub along with the novel and standing shoulder to shoulder with the fresh and innovative.

Following on from last year’s gracious Borrowed & New, The Voodoo Sheiks’ latest album Voodification not only celebrates the sheer beauty of the continued mix of Blues Rock that the previous album gave out in waves but also the intrigue that the band place before their fans in the new album. It is the dichotomy of the musical soul, the chance to stay lauded where you have previously laid the lyrics and testament of the well placed guitar note or move on, take yet another stride towards a kind of permanent place in the pantheon before them.

Nobody in their right mind would ever stay still, for in that is a sign of creative madness and whilst Voodoo is the order of the day, magic is the order of Time and magic is certainly what The Voodoo Sheiks provide in Blues abundance throughout Voodification.

Adrian Thomas’ guitar plays like a wand being used by some mythical Wizard, a grand Vizier with so much up his sleeve that the sound of each note reverberates as if being plucked by harpist with delicate fingers but who fancies a change of scene and to wear more comfortable clothes. The integration of Slowblow Dave’s actual harp and sincere vocals, Andy Pullin’s bass and the deep resonating howl of style and steady pace of John Coombes’ Drums are almost like a pastoral dream being played out before the listener. The whispering of grass, the hard to hear but ultimately worth the wait of a cuckoo sending out signals that its ready to date and the gentle buzz of several bees collecting pollen in a nearby flowerbed could not sound as sweet as what the band have placed down for eternity.

Tracks such as Have A Heart, Exit Wound, Build Me A Woman, Negative Equity Blues and Monkey DNA have a sense of charming, the enchanting, the thrill of the clean and pure, but with a huge hint of the dirty unexplained strides across it all, the Wizard’s wand spreads joy wherever it senses the lacklustre and the beige.

In just one year the progression is to be admired, to bring out two quality albums in the space of 12 months is to be thankful that a band can care that much. For The Voodoo Sheiks, the spell is firmly in place and the listener is happy to be under the thrall.

Ian D. Hall